Asean members urged to affirm commitments

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should reconsider its consensus-based approach to resolving issues and work on presenting a unified front to address emerging challenges.

This was the sentiment of experts who spoke at a panel discussion during the “Asean at Fifty: Going Forward” forum in Makati City on Thursday. The forum tackled the question of what role the regional bloc could play given rising anti-globalization sentiment and how the promises of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) could be achieved.

“First, our political leaders must affirm their commitment with the Asean community and their respective work plans. Second, it is apparent that some members do not consider Asean as the lead driver of their foreign policy,” he said.

“The governance structure of Asean with the adoption of Asean Charter lacks teeth in compliance. The Asean way of ‘polite way’ must give way to a more rule-based framework if we are going to make progress,” Camacho added.

He also stressed Asean must do a better job in communications, noting that while there was heightened visibility leading to the establishment of the AEC in 2015, the bloc has not really been effective in communicating its vision, strategies and action plans to the public.

Lastly, he said it was about time that each member countries commit to the concept of Asean citizenship.
“This should allow Asean members to be distinguish with non-Aseans on nationality issues in areas like foreign ownership limits, foreign labor, professional services and many others,” he said.

Meanwhile, Center for Strategic International Studies Co-Chair Mari Pangestu said Asean should renew its focus on regional cooperation to capture opportunities and manage the risks of uncertainty and the disruptions it is facing right now.